Do Social Functioning Problems of Premature Children Persist Between 7 and 11 Years of Age?

Abstract

A number of studies report that from the first years of life, preterm children have more difficulty self-regulating and communicating in their social group. If these children show signs of difficulty adjusting socially, the question then is whether or not these problems continue and persist over time. The objective is to observe the combined effects of birth status and the passage of time on the resolution/persistence of the social problems. At age 7, the social adjustment of 96 extremely preterm (EP) children was assessed in a school setting, and 82 (85%) were followed at 11 years, and matched with three healthy term peers of the same sex and socioeconomic status (SES) recruited in the same classroom. A total of 375 children have been “casted” by their classmates in social roles through a sociometric interview at 7 and 11 years. The findings indicate a customary stability in term children but persistent or even increasing problems of victimization in EP children and a decrease of aggressiveness over time in the EP boys subgroup. Moreover, we found persistent social isolation problems in the subgroup of EP girls at 7 and 11 years. It can be concluded that prematurity is associated with a process of social marginalization that results from both the children’s very limitations and the resultant reputation effects. At these ages, any discrepancy is quickly judged as a weakness that children do not want to be associated with. Furthermore, the passage of time confirms this and reinforces the marginalization process.